What are the Best Features of Safety Shoes? Complete Guide

Before going shopping for a pair of safety shoes for yourself during work or casual use. We recommend knowing the best features of a safety shoe. A safety shoe must be designed to protect your feet from different work hazards.

Many important features combinedly made a work boot a safety boot. These integrands include comfortable, safety toe cushions, electrical hazard, oil and slip-resistant, metatarsal guards, a protected insole and a lightweight outsole, and many more.

OHSA Set Rules

A safety work shoe must meet the standards of the ASTM safety standards to protect your feet while working or moving. The OHSA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration describes it in its mission statement to save lives, by preventing injuries, and any hazard to all employees. 

According to OHSA, employees must wear protected safety boots. While working in the work field to protect the feet from any injury from rolling and falling objects or protect from piercing the ole. 

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has designed some international footwear safety standards. Every company or brand has to comply with the producer’s standards. 

 Safety Boots Features List

Table of Contents

  1. Comfortable
  2. Safety Toe Cushion
  3. Electrical Hazard (EH)
  4. Oil and Slip Resistant
  5. Metatarsal Guards
  6. Protected insole
  7. Electro Static Discharge (ESD)

Comfortable

The comfort while working or moving is more important than other all features, Because not only does it enhance the efficiency but also makes you easy to perform well. It includes the construction of a shoe insole and outer sole. And the different compositions of the upper material and inner sole cushions. 

Safety Toe Cushion

In 1925 safety toe guards originated in the construction of work boots to protect the foot and reduce the rate of a foot injury. Since that time, ANSI has set some safety toe standards for the protection of feet. 

We categorize safety toe guards into two basic elements.

  1. Impact
  2. Compression

These two elements are further classified into three each.

Impact

I/75, I 50, and I/30 

These three standard designations for the specific test results were done with a 50-pound weight dropped from a set height.

safety-shoes-work-boots

Compression

C/50, C/ 75, C/ 30

These three standard designations for the specific test done for compressing the safety toe at 1750 pounds for C/ 50, 2500 for C / 75, and 1000 pounds for C/ 30.

There are different safety toe types such as steel-toe safety boot, alloy toe, and composite toe, some brands have set their specific safety toe such as Timberland\s Titan Toe, These different types of toes just meet the standard of safety and protection. 

ANSI Standard Chart

ANSI standard chart shows the following features

StandardCompressionClearance
C / 75751 /2 “
C / 50501 /2 “
C / 30301 /2 “
StandardIMpactClearance
I /5017501 /2 “
I / 3010001 /2 “
I / 7525001 /2 “

Electrical Hazard (EH)

It is set to protect the feet from electrical shock while working against open circuits that are up to 600 volts. It is best for electrical workers or workers or employees working around factory areas where they are susceptible to electrical hazard conditions. 

EH, standards set used during the construction of work boots. The construction of safety boots is set as a single-piece construction. The heel and sole are molded into a single piece to the upper sole without any electrically conductive material. 

EH rating tested by a lab where it can withstand applications of 14,000 volts at 60 Hz (Hertz) set specific time. That is usually one min, where the 3.0 mA (milliamperes)pass or leak there to test. 

Metatarsal Guard

To protect the upper foot bone or toe from any falling or rolling object some metatarsal guards standard sets. Every brand has to meet these standards to sell in the market. These standards not only protect the feet internally but also from external effects. 

Oil and Slip-resistant

These tests are also performed in specific labs where the footwear is tested with a set of standards. ASTM F 1667, ASTM F 489 standards set that is used for American Olean red quarry tiles for slip resistance. While some it other few ASTM standards for protected sole and safety toe. 

Protected insole

Protected insoles that not only prevent feet from smell and fatigue. Comfortable and heel protected and prevent heel injuries. 

Electro Static Discharge (ESD)

The electrical shock that gets a user or wearer when he or she moves on the carpet or suddenly touches the knob of the door. This is the discharge of electricity in the range. It may be 2000to 3000 volts. Static discharge is protected by a specific type of construction the work boot with the specific silver thread that is used to stitch the soles with the upper or sometimes use carbon in the sole or footbed to protect the feet. 

Static Discharge types

ANSI set two standards for such protected safety shoes.

  1. SD type i
  2. SD type ii

All the above points are features that make any work boots or footwear a safety shoe. Before buying, you must see these by reading features on the box of shoes or on their official websites. keep them in mind and select the best for yourself. 

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